Presentations: Design & User Experience

Less has been the iconic Web 2.0 design meme from the beginning. Less clutter, less confusion, fewer well-chosen features… all these enabling more use, more interaction, more connection. This year we look at not only how to create a user experience that offers more by providing less, but also how to do more with fewer resources, how to use the constraints of the mobile platform to your advantage, and how to make your service accessible to those with disabilities.

Accessibility is key to online success in a Web2.0 world. Robin Christopherson, a leading figure in Europe's accessibility community, and himself blind, will investigate the challenges and opportunities facing web designers and developers using a wide range of websites and assistive technologies to illustrate good and bad practice.

Why are our best attempts at online storytelling little more than poorly compressed embedded videos? This talk will focus on the evolution of storytelling through the ages and why Alternate Reality Games (narratives told across websites, email, cell phones, and live events) may be the next big step in building the kinds of stories the Internet was built for.

This workshop is for web designers interested in shifting their careers toward designing for mobile devices. Kim Lenox of Adaptive Path, will describe what makes mobile different from the web and how to design for mobile context of use. Join Kim for this workshop and learn how your current web design background can be leveraged to design compelling mobile products.

Successful social sites are not just friend networks. They are built around objects that connect people with shared interests. But turning an idea into a shareable object is not always so simple. We'll ask What makes a good social object? This talk will deconstruct the social objects and verbs on which well-known successes and exciting new startups are built on.

This panel discusses the intersection of human-centered design and Agile software development. Our session will describe and explore the differences between the two approaches, when it's appropriate to use Agile, how to integrate this popular method into the human-centered design — and why client needs and today's marketplace are increasingly demanding these collaborative techniques.

The success of Web 2.0 and beyond depends on our ability to plan for, create, publish, and govern content people actually care about. Content strategy is the key! Learn about the roles, processes, and tools necessary to create useful, usable content. Like it or not, we're all publishers now. Shouldn't you start acting like one?

In the past couple of years, crowdsourcing has been a way to get attention and signal a connection to a brand's customers. But while some brands are finding ways to add community into their mix, it's baked into the DNA of others. Others combine community with expert curation for a different result. Bring your questions for this panel of capable curators.

Designing for social interaction is hard. People are unpredictable, consistency is a mixed blessing, and co-creation with your users requires a dizzying flirtation with loss of control. We will present the dos and don’ts of social web design using a sampling of interaction patterns, design principles and best practices to help you improve the design of your digital social environments.

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This workshop teaches core principals for creating robust and vibrant online communities, and illuminates critical design decisions that help a community thrive. Learn about the building blocks of social software, and which ones are most relevant to your business. Learn how to promote desired behaviors with interface design, and who’s doing it right.

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Rapid prototyping using Flash is a simple yet extremely powerful way to create great design solutions. A wide range of realworld prototypes will be shown, created for major brands and startups. You’ll see how these prototypes can be built very quickly and easily, with little or no Flash expertise.

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If you've ever tried to execute a research-driven UX or design project for a client, you've probably found that research/testing and budgets mix about as well as oil and water, especially in a more conservative market. Learn how to make effective design and UX decisions when resources are limited, be it time or money.

Ubiquitous computing has been here since at least 2005, but we may not have noticed it. This talk will discuss how mashups between meatspace and the Net have already happened, what the emerging patterns are, and how widgetization is about to jump from social networks to devices and then disappear altogether.

Experts suggest that 2009 will be the year where website testing goes mainstream. Are you ready to run your first A/B or Multivariate test? Have you run a few tests and realized the results may not be what they appear? Or are you a testing guru? Regardless of your situation, this session will enable you to run the right test and get meaningful results today.

For "people-powered" services, attracting and retaining a critical mass of active participants is essential. To create a new user experience that leaves users itching to go further, you must understand and appeal to people's motivations. In this session, you'll examine design patterns used by successful sites to motivate users to sign up, get established, and stay active.

The delivery of indispensible mobile user experience is not only essential, but should come irrespective of device or platform. While the traditional willingness to transfer PC experience to mobile still prevails, development of applications is now taking a mobile first philosophy, focused on building relevant content, leveraging the mobile environment, and allowing consumer choice.

Everyone wants an "intuitive" interface: the users, the designers, and the content publishers. But building them is hard. Recent research has given insight into why it's hard and how to get past major obstacles. Learn the two essential elements of what makes an interface intuitive and what successful teams are doing to create experiences that delight.